JJRC H37 Elfie quadcopter review

JJRC H37 – the cheapest smartphone controlled foldable “selfie drone”

Usually selfie drones like this JJRC H37 Elfie are very expensive gadgets. Although the design of the JJRC Elfie is very similar with the one ZeroTech Dobby has, they are from completly different league. Actually is a bit exaggerated to categorize the H37 as a selfie quadcopter.

In 2016, most of the major drone manufactures like Yuneec and DJI announced their own selfie drone. Even if the JJRC H37 is just a cheap imitation, I think it deserves to be reviewed on FirstQuadcopter.com.

Sponosored AD

Announcing new and interesting quadcopters almost every month, JJRC quickly becomes one of the most popular toy drone brand. I reviewed few of their drones and I can say that they have an excellent price/value ration.

In my opinion, around Christmas, the Elfie drone seems to be a nice fun gift for a low budget.

JJRC H37 quadcopter highlights

Foldable design;

APP control (G-sensor and virtual sticks);

Wi-Fi real-time image transmission;

Altitude hold (auto-hover);

One key return-to-home (not GPS);

Headless flight mode;

Multiple flight speed rates (30%, 60% and 100%);

About 8 – 15 minutes of flight time;

Near 100 meters control range in open field.

JJRC H37 Elfie review with pros and cons

I will start my JJRC H37 review with thanking Alice from GeekBuying for offering me this nice gadget. I asked her if she knows the cute girl from the H37’s promo video because I want to meet someone with whom I can learn Chinese 😀

Inside the surprisingly small cardboard box, besides the folded aircraft with loaded battery, I found the following: velvet carry bag, USB battery charger, 1 set of spare propellers and user manual. There is no remote controller included.

The size of the aircraft is about 135 x 65 x 26mm. The arms can be easily folded/unfolded just in seconds so it will simply fit into your pocket.

Due to the foldable design the motors are orientated horizontality and not vertically as on other toy drones. In case of motor failure you can conveniently replace the entire arm. It costs only $3.30 and includes the motor, main gear and propeller.

In front of the drone is located a tiny camera. The tilt angle of the lens is adjustable (about ± 15 degrees) in order to obtain the best field of view.

The power button is located on the top, very visible and easy to access.

During night flights you will be guided by two white LEDs in front and two red ones in the rear.

The longish 500mAh battery is loaded from the bottom of the quad. Frankly, the up to 15 minutes advertised flight time sounds unbelievable.

Thanks to the included velvet bag you can conveniently carry the quad and also store it safely.

JJRC H37 review – Camera

Five minutes of video occupies about 23 MB. The JJRC H37 doesn’t require a micro SD memory card like because the captured files are stored on your smartphone’s internal memory.

The video files are stored under the “JJRC” folder and end with H264 extension. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to play the videos on my desktop computer even if I renamed the files to *.avi, *.mpg or *.mp4. Anyway, because the videos are captured from the live-video stream I don’t expect spectacular quality.

The camera’s real-time video feed can be displayed on your mobile device (smartphone/tablet) through the JJRC APP. The quality of the live-video is pretty enjoyable, kids will love the fact that they can spy the neighbor’s dog.

JJRC H37 review – Remote APP

As I previously mentioned, the JJRC H37 comes without a transmitter and can be controlled only through your mobile device.

You can opt to control aircraft in two ways, using virtual sticks or through gravity sensor (not worked with my Samsung Galaxy S7). I’m curious if the manufacturer plans to offer in the future a conventional transmitter for this model.

The flight direction of the drone can be controlled with the right virtual stick or through the smartphone’s internal gyro-sensor by tilting the phone. Practically, the JJRC Elfie H37 can be controlled like we play a mobile game, kids will surely love this feature.

Finishing your flight was never more simple, you just need to press the arrow-down button, and the quad will land and stop its motors.

The JJRC APP allows to review your photos/videos right on the flight field. The captured files being stored on your smartphone’s memory you can instantly share them with your friends.

JJRC H37 review – First usage

Prior to your first flight, you need the install the APP on your mobile device. After unfolding the arms, power ON the quad and look for the “JJRC–526E61” Wi-Fi network. The motors can be armed through the APP using the “Up” arrow.

The control mode is set to virtual sticks by default. Push up the throttle stick (left one) and the drone will start to rise.

Thanks to the integrated air-pressure sensor the aircraft keeps its flight altitude very stable.

For newbies and indoor flight I recommend to set the speed rate at 30%.

When I switched to “full speed – 100%” the H37 became speedy and more agile. This speed rate is recommended for outdoor flights.

In case of emergency you can use the “Stop” button, this will stop all the motors instantly.

Of course, due to the WiFi protocol, the live video has some lag and it’s not recommended to fly exclusively in FPV mode.

Editor’s ratting

Price–performance ratio

Build quality

Flight performance

Flight time

Camera

3.9

JJRC H37 review - Verdict

Honestly, JJRC’s promo video of the H37 Elfie quadcopter is a bit exaggerated in terms of video quality and flight performances. Using the virtual sticks is not that easy to land on your palm, especially outdoor where the wind makes it difficult to control accurately. Anyway, for its price it can be a very nice Christmas gift.

For those who became curious and want to try it, this pocket drone can be ordered for $41.99 with one battery and for $43.99 with two batteries right here. Both variants are delivered free of charge.

Updates on 15.12.2016

I just got this “geekh37“cuopon code from Alice, it will offer you %5 off from the original price.

If you have luck, only the motor is dead. You will need to buy a spare arm with motor. Replacing the motor is very easy. If you will have the same issue after motor replacement, you will need to take apart the H37 and check the wires. If everything good you will need to replace the mother board (flight controller + receiver).

I got this from my mom. She said that I can film my self during cycling. Image quality is poor and the drone not follows you. Honestly, the JJRC H37 is not a real selfie drone – it is only a cheap pocket drone for fun.

My Elfie H37 worked OK until it crash landed. Even after a hard reset the WiFi will not reconnect. Instead of showing JJRC (with some numbers) it just shows as ???????????? And phone cannot connect to network. This is my 2nd H37. The first one had no WiFi at all. Sellers appear not interested once payment received. Can anyone help with the WiFi name (SSID) identity problem? Thanks.

nice job dude! Are you also planning to review the “Baby Elfie” drone? It looks like a great successor of the H37 but with much compact size. I want to but the Baby Elfies as birthday gift for my 12 year old girl 🙂

Why is there no mention of Apple iPhone iPad app. There’s four jjrc apps and no advertisement blog anything speaks of them. Your Samsung prob didn’t work with the H37 Elfie cause they rush their product out to try to keep up with Apple which isn’t possible……

I have just bought Elfie. I downloaded the JJRC app both on my i-phone 4 as well as sony but in both the apps even after connecting with the elfie, the app does not show up the up/down arrows and the stop button. can anyone help me

Hi all. I purchased my H37 a few months back. I can control it on both my Apple Ipad and my adroid smartphone. I find it responds better to the Ipad. It did burn one motor which I was able to replace relatively easily. The soldering process is simple as there is just one tiny drop of solder needed. My difficulty is that I have unsteady hands and poor vision but I used one of those magnifying lenses which have a light built in it. The only problem I have with it is that the STOP button is ineffective. The craft just does not respond to the STOP button which is a bit of pain when I need to get it down in hurry. All up I am happy with the machine and it is far easier to fly than my CX-30W.

Hi everyone, just like to remind people to check that your wifi in on and it’s connected to EACHINE ####, I was having problems until I realised I hadn’t made the connection to the link. There’s a lot of help and beginners guide on utube for this Quadcopter. By the way, WiFi-UFO is the best app to download, I can use my phone which is a LG K8 with is plus my IPad so don’t give up, it’s fun.

1) every time I crash (it is impossible to land) it takes a hard reset to get it to work again. Why am I doing wrong? 2) there appears to be no clear logic to the trim functions, I just can’t get them to work. 3) all of the YouTube tutorials I’ve watched seem to get their Elfie to work well in follow me. I can’t.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a really good beginners tutorial?

Well similar to Cherry above a few posts up, My unit also has one prop not working. Total flying time was around 10 minutes all up with more crashes than flying really. I did manage to get it going long enough to try out gyro mode using the angle of my phone to fly it and even took a 20 second video. However after landing on the grass at one point one of the blades just wont spin. I was happy with the video and would have liked to try and master the controls but looks like that is that. holes are so small i cannot get the screws undone to even look under the top. and like someone else i have spare batteries and a charger coming in the mail shortly too. awaiting seller on eBay response but probably unlikely that I will get a replacement.

I bought a JJRC Elfie drone and my kids played with it for 5 minutes and broke it before I could try. The manufacture told me tough luck. So I decided to buy another one. It broke in one flight that lasted 8 seconds. Garbage.

Just got this Elfie drone the other day…what a waste of money. Charged the battery, powered up the H37 drone, wifi won’t show up in my networks. Rebooted the phone and nothing. Any help to resolve would be appreciated.

First of all, I’m sorry to hear about your problem with this quad. Strange, that are plenty of complaint regarding this selfie drone because mine worked well out of the box. In opinion the only solution to solve your issue, is to contact the seller and ask for a refund.

I purchased one recently, can anyone help, my drone is not taking off / flying… what should I do? all propellers are working but it stays at the ground. despite I push towards the end the control the button at the left for it fly, but still to no avail.

I’m enjoying my Elfie drone, but the problem I’m having is the camera when connected thru my phone, (zte zmax pro) shows a really red screen. The drone flies great bit the camera view is red. When played back, the image is clear???? Tried uninstalling and reinstalling several times. No luck.. Help please..

I know what’s going on! Today, I was watching a review video for the JJRC H37 Elfie, and there is actually a smudge protecter on the camera when you first buy it. It actually has a red area on the camera, within the little sticker that’s on it, so that could be the problem. Tell me if it works, I’m glad to help!

Hi, the jjrc-h37 is my first drone and i’m having some issues with the apps (or the drone, i don’t know exactly what is broken kkkk) The thing is that when I connect the wi-fi then open the app (any controller app wifi-UFO, JJRC, etc) the camera’s image show up, but I can’t make the drone fly, no matter what, I have already put it on auto height, on manual, on accelerometer and all the buttons, but not happens, it just show the drone’s camera image.

I’m with a Motorola G4 Plus and android 7, anyone has seen this problem before? thanks for the help.

PS: I also have tested on, Iphone 5c and on Sansung Galaxy Tab Active SM-T365M, but still show only the camera’s image.

Could someone help me with an issue. One prop is sticking a little so will not turn unless assisted with a pencil, and then it does not always go. Took it apart but could not work out how to replace the prop stem (if that is the issue). Or is this a motor issue. When I open the black prop arm by taking out the screw, it generally turns a lot easier, but as soon as I put it back in the case again, it gets stiff.

Mine arrived today, installed all the jjrc apps it didn’t like any of them particularly, it did connect to ufo but did not respond to all the controls, the camera looked ok even indoors, I am trying to get good connection and app operation on ios and android, will let you know what happen if anything

Well my h37 turned up today and I have been left totally disappointed, within 10min of the battery charging it was all placed back into the box, first of all it swerved of to the left, after recalibration it continued doing this, after removing battery and reinstalling it turns on for a couple of seconds then turns off, just to add insult to injury I had already ordered more batteries from china and some spare props. Maybe I just got a bad one but feel I have wasted almost £60 including spares I ordered

My JJR/C Elfie quadcopter shows on WIFI and connects to my Android and ISO device. The Red and Blue light blink. I open the app and just get a spinning “buffering” type animation in the middle of the screen. I have tried two different apps and three different devices, Android and IOS iPhone, and iPad. I have tried everything I can find in the JJRC APP. Any ideas?

3S and 4S are for racing drones will 8-12 so the smaller one which is running software for taking pictures and video obviously not gonna get those minutes. It’s out of the pocket quick pic or video the dock to a power bank.

Good Morning ! After reading your review, I ordered a JJRC H 37 Elfie which I received this week. Unfortunately the user manual is printed in very small, tiny letters so I cannot read it because I am visually impaired. I wonder if you can help me finding a manual as PDF file. Thank you in advance With the best wishes from Vienna, Austria Günther

Not sure if you got an answer yet but I cut the manual and scanned it to a PDF. I can send it to you if you like. I just got mine last week but it will not connect. The WIFI connects and the light blink but it never connects for use. I just get the slow circle “buffer” image. I tried it on Android and IOS. Tried two differents apps but always the same. The props have never turned yet.

hi.. i just got mine today and i have the same problem i could not connect on wifi and even tried the wifi ufo does nt work too..i am trying to search the video link you shared but i was already deleted by the uploader…can you help me…ty in advance

Popular quadcopter news

Back in 2016, FiMI in collaboration with Xiaomi announced the Mi 4K drone. Now, FiMI Technologies comes up with another quadcopter called FIMI A3. Unfortunately, in terms of video rigs, it seems to be worst equipped compared to its processor.

Best GPS drone under 100

From the day of its announcement was obvious that the VISUO XS812 aims to be the perfect drone for people who are looking for a low-cost introduction in flying and shooting aerial videos. Just like its predecessor, the VISUO XS812 also follows the Mavic’s cool foldable design. This second generation Visuo drone brings GPS positioning system and longer flight time.

Sponsored Drone deals

Welcome! First Quadcopter is the best aerial drone and FPV quadcopter resource for all pilots.
We help everyone from newbies to professional flyers to discover the latest drone news. Read about how to build your own done.
Here you can find only honest drone reviews. Racing enthusiasts will find wide range of super fast FPV drones.
Enjoy safely piloting radio controlled UAVs!

First Quadcopter and third-party cookies are present in order to enhance your browsing experience, analyze and measure your engagement with our content. We'll assume you're OK with this AcceptReject, but you can opt-out if you wish. Of course according to GDPR you can withdraw your consent at any time. Read More